Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I'd like to introduce a new and hopefully regular series on this blog; Photography.

I love to travel around New Zealand and take photos. I'm not a professional but I know enough to get by. These were taken with a Canon 550d with 15-55mm kit lens. I'd love to get a new lens as the kit one does have limitations in terms of quality and capability.

These shots were taken at Westport and Karamea, on the West Coast of New Zealands' South Island.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

This is something I finished for last year’s local train show. It was a last minute rush to get the layout in a state where it could be exhibited. I didn't get all the trees done and there is lots of detailing and weathering to do but at least I got something together.

The modules were built from extruded foam and plywood plus MDF. Track is hand laid and the scenery was achieved with various static grass products and a 20 thousand volt zapper.
I called it Burnetts Creek after James Burnett who proposed the idea of an incline at Denniston, on the west coast of NZ’s south island.

The location is Paradise, near Glenorchy at the top of Lake Wakatipu. There could have been a railway there but my layout is completely fictional.

I spent a long time measuring NZR wagons at the local preservation society railway. Together with original plans I drew up an etch for all the strapping and detail for two classes of wooden four-wheeled wagon and the body plus details of a steel wagon. These were very common types on New Zealand railways. I got them etched in Scotland and combined the parts with stripwood and the white metal underframes already developed by my friend.

The wagons in the photos are built by my friend from our parts. I had my Climax running which got a quick coat of flat black. It proved to be very enjoyable to run with the sound chip in it.
Many here enjoy modelling in on30 but we have found many also want to model New Zealand Railways in 1:48. We are doing so by using the correct scale gauge of 22.4mm rather than HO track, which at 16.5mm represents two foot six rather than the proper NZR gauge of three foot six. We call it NZ48.

With my first wagon etches working successfully I am looking at expanding the range of rolling stock to include a guards van and other types of wagon. I also have two small locos in the pipeline with hopes for larger locos in the future.
I still have the modules from my original Ferrusia Railway and hope to resurrect them next year as part of a main line NZ48 layout.

Friday, February 15, 2013

This army is the first full army I have painted to this standard. I have done many other armies, both 40k and Fantasy, but never spent so much time on each model.

It was enjoyable to paint such varied textures and explore the possibilities of each model. My eyes have been opened to the world of Fantasy and I am tempted to collect an army of my own at one point.
I went with a fur trappers/hunters theme and therefore sculpted on cloaks and pelts of fur, as well as accessorising with knives, trophies and skulls.

The bases were given a treatment of slate pieces and a crushed slate/sand mix. They also feature grass tufts which I made myself and will be selling as a product of Ferrus Workshops in the very near future.
The skin was an experiment combining airbrushed basecoats, layers of washes, glazes and thin highlights in order to create a windswept mountain ogre feel. The rest was standard stuff like wet-blending, washes, highlighting etc. I used some of the new GW paints and washes on this army and was pleasantly surprised. Mephiston Red covers like a dream, the new washes are just as good as the old ones and all the paints now smell rather nice.